Paper can be a very useful and simple on-ramp to computing for non-tech savvy users prior to using computer applications. Even for those who are computer savvy, paper can help simplify the overall experience when using the computer applications.
Multifunction devices, also known as All-In-One (AiO) devices, connected to personal computers (PCs) and PCs including cameras that can enable paper as an interface are becoming popular, both for the home and the office. Such devices as part of their basic functions of printing, etc., can also scan and/or camera capture pointed data in papers. For example, in the case of an AiO connected to a PC, with the PC normally acting as a master sending data to be printed on the AiO or the PC acting as a slave receiving data that is scanned from the AiO, the AiO could further enable much simpler interfaces to the PC. For example, a scanned paper using well defined handwritten annotations can trigger computer applications on a PC and also provide data from the scanned paper to the triggered computer applications.
The existing techniques describe scanning data in paper and linking to computer applications residing in PCs, however, they do not go beyond linking the computer applications residing in PCs, i.e., they do not provide scanned data from the scanned paper to the triggered computer applications. Further, the existing techniques do not provide simpler interfaces where paper can use the well defined handwritten annotations to provide data to applications and perform subsequent actions that can be carried out by the applications.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present subject matter in any way.